Dishwashing agents are available to consumers in numerous presentations. In addition to traditional liquid manual dishwashing agents, automatic dishwashing agents have in particular become increasingly significant as domestic dishwashing machines have become more common. These automatic dishwashing agents are typically offered for sale to the consumer in solid form, for example as a powder or as tablets, but increasingly also in liquid form.
One of the main objectives of manufacturers of automatic cleaning agents is to improve the cleaning and rinsing performance of these agents, increasing attention having been paid in recent times to cleaning performance in low temperature cleaning cycles or in cleaning cycles with reduced water consumption.
Rinsing performance and drying in automatic dishwashing are conventionally improved by using specific rinse aids or substances with a rinsing action which are dispensed in a first presentation separately from the automatic dishwashing agent.
A biodegradable, separately dispensed rinse aid based on specific polyalkoxylates is described, for example, in European Patent EP 1 682 643 B1 (Ecolab).
In a second presentation, the rinse aids or substances with a rinsing action are incorporated into the automatic dishwashing agent (“multiple-in-one” dishwashing agents).
European Patent EP 1 524 313 B1 (Dalli) describes such a cleaning agent composition for automatic dishwashing, into which a specific surfactant is incorporated for improving rinsing characteristics.
Developments in the field of automatic rinse aids are directed, on the one hand, towards the object of improved formulation of the two previously described presentations and, on the other hand, towards the object of provision of more effective rinsing additives or additive combinations.